Floating skimmer for cleaning the surface of a body of liquid

ABSTRACT

A skimmer device for cleaning the surface of a body of liquid having a housing with a front and rear opening. Disposed within the housing is at least one float, a removable tray, and a battery powered motor with an attached propeller. Attached to the exterior of the housing is a guide fin and a net. Additionally, the housing has a solar device thereon that operates to recharge the rechargeable battery.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit ofapplication Ser. No. 11/306,604 filed Jan. 4, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a device for cleaning the surface of abody of liquid. Leaves and other floating debris are commonly removedfrom swimming pools by “skimmers” built into the walls of the pool atthe normal water level. Wave action in the pool washes floating leavesand debris into troughs or openings in the wall of the pool where theyare drawn by a line connected to the suction side of the swimming poolpump. This system is less than satisfactory as some leaves are blownagainst the wall of the pool remote from the skimmer. The water levelalso fluctuates below the position of the skimmer causing the skimmer tobe inoperative.

Floating skimmers have been used to overcome these problems, but thesedevices are complex, requiring many parts, are difficult to assemble,and expensive to manufacture. Therefore, a need exists in the art for askimmer that addresses these problems.

An objective of this invention is to provide a skimmer having fewerparts that is easier to assemble.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a skimmer that is moreeconomical to manufacture.

These and other objectives will be apparent to those skilled in the artbased on the following written description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A skimmer device for cleaning the surface of a body of liquid having ahousing with a front and rear opening. Disposed within the housing is atleast one float, a removable tray, and a battery powered motor with anattached propeller. Attached to the exterior of the housing is a guidefin and a net.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a skimmer;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a skimmer;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a skimmer, and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a skimmer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the figures, the skimmer 8 has a housing 10 with a frontopening 12 and a slotted rear opening 14. While the housing 10 is of anyshape and size, preferred is a housing comprised of housing sections andfloat covers. More specifically, the housing has a front section 16 withan opening 12, a first 18 and second 20 handle section, a first 22 andsecond 24 middle section, and a rear section 26 having a slotted opening14. Disposed within the housing sections are a plurality of coversincluding an upper cover 28 and first 30 and second 32 side covers. Thehousing sections are connected together with screws or the like. Theshape of the front section 16 is preferably curved or arcuate to reducethe chance that the skimmer 8 will become stuck against a pool wall orin the corner and instead will spin away and continue to move.

Disposed within the housing 10 is at least one float, and preferably anupper float 34, and first 36 and second 38 side floats which arepositioned adjacent the upper cover 28 and first 30 and second 32 sidecovers respectively. The weight of the skimmer used in conjunction withthe floats keeps the skimmer upright and flips the skimmer if itcapsizes. Further, disposed within the housing is a battery 42 that isoperatively connected to a motor 44. The battery 42 and motor 44 areenclosed within covers 46 and seals 48 and are supported by an innersupport 50. Connected to the motor is a propeller 52. Preferably thepropeller is tilted with relation to the surface of the water to assistin smooth and free movement of the skimmer 8.

Disposed within the inner support 50 is a switch assembly 54 and a DCjack 56 and plunger 58. The switch assembly 54 has a button 60 connectedto a switch 62 with a switch cover 64 positioned over both. The switchassembly 54 is connected to the battery 42 and activates the battery 42upon engagement.

Removably positioned within the housing 10, through the opening 12 ofthe front section 16 is a tray 66 for collecting rubbish. The tray ispositioned below the edge of the opening 12 so that fluid and rubbishwill flow over the edge of the opening 12 such that rubbish is collectedin the tray 66. The tray 66 is detachably connected to the housing 10 bya latch or locking mechanism 68. The latching mechanism 68 has a button69 that extends outwardly from the housing 10 that upon engagement willrelease the tray 66.

Attached to and extending outwardly from the bottom of the housing 10 isa stabilizing fin 70. The stabilizing fin 70 guides the skimmer 8 as itmoves through the water preventing the skimmer 8 from spinning incircles. Also, attached to the housing 10 is a net 72 that provides asecondary filter for trapping debris. Preferably, the net 72 is attachedto the rear section 26 of the housing 10 and is made of fine nylon.

Though described as using a battery 42 in combination with a DC jack 56the skimmer 8 may be powered in alternative manners. For example, asbest shown in FIG. 5 solar plates, or panels 74 may be placed on thefirst and second handle sections 18, 20 or elsewhere on the skimmer 8.The solar panels 74 are connected to the battery 42 in order to rechargethe battery for continuous operation. Additionally, LEDs 76 can also beplaced on the skimmer 8 and used in combination with an LED switch 78that when lit indicate that energy is being created from the solarpanels 74 thus recharging the battery 42. A transparent cover 80 alsocan be placed on the first and second handle sections 18, 20 over thetop of the solar panels 74 to provide protection for the solarpanels/plates 74.

In operation, the battery is charged via the solar panels 74 or DC jack56. Once charged, the power is supplied to the motor 44 from the battery42 by activating the button 60 of the switch assembly 54. Onceactivated, the motor 44 rotates the propeller 52 such that when theskimmer 8 is placed in the water the propeller 52 will move the skimmeracross the surface of the water. Preferably, the skimmer 8 does not movestraight ahead and instead moves generally and continuously ahead. Whenthe skimmer 8 engages the edge of the pool the skimmer will turn andcontinue to move generally ahead and continuously.

The width of the front opening 12 is preferably 110-126 mm which issubmerged into water. As the skimmer 8 moves ahead water with rubbishflows through the front opening 12 and down into the tray 66 and throughthe rear slotted opening 14 such that rubbish is collected in the tray66. When filled, the tray 66 is removed and the rubbish deposited at aremote location.

Thus, a skimmer that at least meets all of the stated objectives hasbeen described.

1. A floating skimming device for cleaning the surface of a body ofliquid, comprising: a housing having a front and a rear opening; aremovable tray disposed within the housing; a float disposed within thehousing; a motor driven by a rechargeable battery having an attachedpropeller disposed within the housing; and a solar panel on the housingelectrically connected to recharge the rechargeable battery.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1 wherein the housing is comprised of a plurality ofsections and covers.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the front of thehousing is curved.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the propeller istilted in relation to the surface level of the liquid.
 5. The device ofclaim 1 wherein a fin is attached to and extends outwardly from thehousing.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein a net is attached to thehousing.